The present invention is directed to a kitchen appliance for cooking foodstuff and, more particularly, to a deep fryer or other cooking apparatus that enables a user to quickly and conveniently operatively connect and/or disconnect a plug of a power cord to an electrical socket of the deep fryer to selectively provide power to and/or remove power from the deep fryer.
Deep fryers are a relatively common household or restaurant appliance that are used to cook or fry foodstuff, typically chicken breasts, turkey breasts, French fries or other foodstuff that is desired to be fried. A typical deep fryer includes a housing which holds cooking oil or other liquid to be heated, a basket which is placed inside the housing which holds the foodstuff to be cooked within the hot oil or other liquid and a lid mounted to the housing. A heating coil, located inside the deep fryer, heats the liquid to a desired temperature. A power cord operatively connects the heating coil to an electrical outlet to provide power to the heating coil.
When cooking is complete, the user desires to cut power to the deep fryer and dispose of the liquid within the deep fryer to eventually clean the deep fryer. To cut power to the deep fryer, the user often disconnects or removed the plug of the power cord from a socket of the deep fryer. However, in conventional deep fryers, the connection between the plug of the power cord and the socket of the deep fryer is relatively strong (typically a mechanical “interference fit”) and, thus, requires a relatively high force to remove the power cord from the deep fryer. Therefore, in conventional deep fryers, it is not unusual for the user to inadvertently at least partially tip over the deep fryer while attempting to remove the plug of the power cord from the socket of the deep fryer. Tipping over the deep fryer can create an inconvenience to the user, as the user is left with spilled cooking oil or foodstuff to clean up.
Therefore, it would be desirable to create a deep fryer having a plug of the power cord that is easily removably attached to the deep fryer such that a relatively low force is required to remove the power cord from the deep fryer. Further, it would be desirable to create a deep fryer having a plug of the power cord that is easier to connect and/or disconnect from a socket of the deep flyer.